Mays Landing woman admits to shooting husband after he assaulted her

A Mays Landing woman fatally shot her husband after he threatened her with the gun during an assault, she said Tuesday.

Marylue Wigglesworth, 53, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the Christmas Day 2022 killing.

She faces a six-year sentence under the plea agreement.

Hamilton Township police were called to the couple's home in the 5200 block of Mays Landing-Somers Point Road at about 10:19 p.m., and found 57-year-old David Wigglesworth shot in the couple's bedroom.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wigglesworth's attorneys claimed from the beginning that she was a victim of domestic violence.

She “experienced significant bruising and other injuries,” attorneys Jonathan Diego and Melissa Rosenblum wrote in a statement released to BreakingAC at that time. “The facts of that heart-rending evening will unfold in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.

    

“Unfortunately, Christmas night was not the first time Ms. Wigglesworth was a victim of her husband’s significant violence," they added.

Wigglesworth's plea included a narrative that confirmed the abuse allegations.

David Wigglesworth assaulted his wife and threatened her with a firearm that he kept in their bedroom, she said during her plea Tuesday.

"Immediately following the threat, the defendant shot the victim with the firearm used in the assault," the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office wrote in a press release. 

Wigglesworth would have to serve at least 85 percent of any sentence under the No Early Release Act. She is currently in the Cape May County jail.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 20.